Lonely
by Kai Michi
Summary: Rating for shounen-ai/yaoi and violence. Follows Partners. Is it the begining of the end when partners go seperate ways, or is it just the end of the begining?
1. Lonely 1: Goodbyes are Forever

Title: Lonely, Chapter 1: Goodbyes Are Forever   
Author: Kai Michi   
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence, allusions to death, and shounen-ai   
Pairings: 2+1/1+2   
Spoilers: Episode 10 and below  
Archive: Dacia and Caer!  
Arc: Intricate   
Notes: Not really. Warnings: It's short. Ye have been warned.  
Disclaimer: They aren't mine, of course. Otherwise ep10 might have actually run like this. ^___^   
Special Note: My muses are starving! I get paid only in feedback, which I trade in for small amounts of ego, so that I can feed my muses. If I have no feedback *sniffle* we can't survive! Please, help my starving muses! Dial KaiTenshi@cs.com and pledge some feedback today! ^___~ 

Lonely + Chapter 1  
Goodbyes Are Forever   


It was Heero's movement that woke Duo up. Usually, Heero slept like a rock, with Duo tucked under his chin; 'for safe keeping' Duo would joke, but they both knew it was because of the nightmares, the memories. Duo turned to glance at the fuzzy red digits of the alarms clock. 11:00 

"Heero..?" 

Heero was seated at the desk in only a pair of plain white boxer-briefs. "Dr. J.." 

Raising himself to one elbow, Duo listened intently. The doctors only contacted them when it was _really_ important. 

"Taurus is a monster. It has a self-learning capability on top of an excellent auto combat-analysis system. So, ironically we just hope that OZ's control system is dependable enough. Otherwise, it would easily override the pilot's commands and start acting on its own. The machine was supposed to be an inferior model. It is a reckless, uncontrollable machine. Destroy it." 

Heero nodded to himself even as the screen went black. "Acknowledged." He turned towards Duo, but the bed was empty. A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Duo was half-dressed, with a duffle-bag in his hand and a sad smile. "I guess this is farewell." 

Heero frowned as Duo continued while dressing and moving about the room, filling his small duffle bag with needed items like his laptop and ration bars. 

"I have a bad feeling about this. The OZ transportation plan seems perfect. They have two different plans -- on the ground and in the air." 

Heero nodded. "But we can take them. We just need to have a plan of our own." 

Duo paused after he pulled on his shirt. "Heero, can you go after the air route? I'll do the ground route." 

Heero nodded as he pulled on his typical mission uniform. "Aa. That's not much of a plan, though." 

Duo snorted. "No, not by a long shot. But we don't know if the other gundams are going to be there or not, and we can't plan on it, in case they don't show. We'll just have to hope." 

Heero threw his own laptop into a bookbag. "Hope doesn't get you anywhere. Action is always the best choice." 

Duo nodded, slinging his duffle over his shoulder and fingering his cross. "But hope is nice when you have nothing left." His eyes rose to Heero, who was regarding him carefully. Cheerfully, he broke the somber moment. "C'mon, Yuy, I'll give you a ride!" The seaside boarding school saw the last of the two terrorists jetting down an empty highway on a nondescript black motorcycle, and the moon watched as two boys stood at the feet of two machines built for destruction. Duo pulled Heero into a close hug, and Heero allowed him to without complaint. "I have a bad feeling about this," Duo repeated in a whisper. "So just remember..." 

"Partners," Heero returned. 

"Yeah." 

With that, Duo gently cupped Heero's cheeks, and gave him a soft, sound kiss on the lips. Heero blinked several times after Duo pulled away. "What...?" 

"A goodluck kiss," Duo whispered. "Maybe Death can protect someone." 

"Goodbye," Heero whispered, unsure of what to say, but wanting to say something. 

Duo smiled. "Goodbyes are forever, Heero. This is just farewell." 

Heero nodded. "Farewell, then." 

With a little salute, Duo turned and mounted his laying gundam, scrambling into the hatch. Heero watched him, fingers to his lips in pensive thought. Then frowning, he too mounted his gundam. 

Inside Deathscythe, Duo took a few moments to acclimate himself with his gundam. He breathed in and out slowly, thinking only of the mission as the stats played on the screen. His fingers moved along the keys without his concious thought in the startup pattern that he had tapped out hundreds of times. It was a movement often made in his sleep, but that knowledge belonged to Heero alone. As the systems hummed to life, and Duo commanded the beast to it's feet, he thought of Heero one last time. "God... if there is a god... protect him, _please_." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Approaching target, ten minutes." 

Duo blinked as 'scythe's automated voice chimed into his unconciousness. They had been flying all night, and he had fallen asleep, trusting 'scythe to the auto-pilot. Now it was clearly daylight, as he could see when he called up visuals of the outside. He could see the convoys on the long range visuals. In a few moments, he should be able to pick up a clearer short range picture. 

"Approaching target, five minutes." 

Ah. There was a clearer picture. He could see the land convoy easily, and there was another gundam. 'Good,' Duo thought, then, 'Shit! Looks like he's in trouble!" 

Disengaging the auto pilot, Duo boosted thrusters to maximum, aiming straight for the train. 

"Contact in five, four, three.." Duo grimaced, positioning his scythe just so. "..one." Contact. It was a rush of exilerating contact as he strained against his flight harness, gravity and inertia battling with each other as he managed to control his mechanical partner, and succesfully derailed the train. As he righted his gundam, and sat back, he smiled to himself. Yet another succesful operation by the Great Shinigami. Opening up a comlink, he flashed his fellow fighter a cheerful, if a bit forced, grin. "Hey, are you alright?" 

The blonde boy smiled back gratefully. "Yes, thanks. I knew you'd come!" 

Duo frowned at the visuals he was recieving on other screens. "Yeah, but we're after the wrong one! This is a trap!" 

The other boy blanched, clearly recieving the same visual of swarms of Leos emerging from the overturned train. "They're coming by the hundreds!" 

"It's just us on land," Duo said. "For now, anyway. Any plans?" 

"Back to back?" the other boy offered. 

"Works for me!" Heero was busy approaching from the southeast. All of his visual screens were on, feeding him the data of the upcoming battle, and he was highly alert. "Five more minutes and I should be there," he muttered, altering Wing's output slightly. "Cut straight throught the refueling station, destroy, then backtrack through what's left of the air route. After that, assist in clean up of the ground route... if there's anything left after _Duo_ has had his fun." He twisted his mouth into a wry grimace at the thought. 

Suddenly, alarms were flashing on all of his screens, and new data was being spewed out at four hundred plus words per minute. "Aries?" Heero wondered. "No, too big..." He checked the data again. "No known match?!" He growled then brought his beam cannon up level, aimed and shot. The strange mobile suit dodged. "It's fast!" Heero acknowledged in wonderment. Was this the Taurus? No, the computer had information on the Taurus, so obviously it was something else. 

Suddenly, Wing began to feed him a transmission from the mystery suit. "Stop Zero One," it began. "We have no need for such things as beam rifles or cannons. This is my challenge to a duel. You must accept my challenge as a gundam pilot!" 

'I'd much rather blow you away,' Heero thought, scowling at the masked pilot, but he accepted anyway. 'Not much of a choice.' 

As the duel began, Heero began trying to catalogue the new suit, when he recieved new information. 'A prototype for a Leo? I didn't know Oz had such a thing. It may be tough, but it shouldn't be a problem. This might set me behind by a maximim of twenty minutes...' Heero began to rearrange his plans in his head, noting that gundam zero three had already taken off for the refueling base. 'He should make that in plenty of time,' Heero thought. 'Then all that's left is to take care of this guy, and clean up the air crew.'

"We've cleared about half, I'd say," said Quatre, panting. 

"Yeah, that's about right," Duo confirmed. "Time for a change of pace, would you say?" 

"What do you have in mind?" 

"Oh something along the lines of: go hog wild!" 

The more petite pilot laughed. "Yes, let's give it everything we've got!" 

"Wait, wait," Duo muttered. "Everything's stopped. They're broadcasting something." 

"Surrender?" 

"No, I'm picking it up now; can you hear it?" 

"Yes, clearly." 

"To all the Gundam pilots, listen! We are ready to attack all the colonies with ballistic missiles. All the space missile sites, formally belonging to the Federation, are now under our control. The destiny of all the colonies is now in our hands! This is not a bluff! All the pilots must surrender and hand over the Gundams to us immediately!"

"Oh my god." Duo clutched his cross, his face pale. "They're not serious." 

"Hand over the gundams?" Quatre squeaked. "They're holding the colonies _hostage_?!" 

"What are we going to do?" Duo wondered. "The colonies.." 

The decision was abruptly lifted from his hands as a universal broadcast interupted all viewscreens, broadcasting one image to everyone. The malformed visage began to speak. "OZ! I had no idea OZ was such a bunch of idiots. For the last time: the colonies never wanted a war with you. It is only I who is challenging you." 

"Dr. J," Heero frowned. 

"Dr. J," Duo grimaced. 

"This is the one who's been giving orders to one of us?" Quatre guessed. Duo nodded, then remembering the screens were still blacked out, sighed. "Yeah." Dr. J continued. "Attacking innocent colonies? What an inhumane strategy that is. You guys will indeed do anything to achieve your goal... I have no choice. I hereby declare that we surrender." 

"We do?" Duo wondered. 

One of his screens went clear, and there was Heero. "Heero?" Duo asked timidly, scared of the answer. "What are you doing?" Heero didn't respond directly, he was busy disconecting something out of sight. "I think that good luck might come in handy," he muttered. Suddenly, he straightened, and looked straight at Duo. "I've never had a partner before," he started. "Or a friend." He bit his lip, looking for words. "Thank you. Goodbye." 

"Goodbye's are forever, Heero." 

"I know." 

Duo's eyes welled up with tears as the screen went black, then Dr. J's face returned. 

Duo hit the platform of his gundam. "Damn you, YUY! Damn you!" 

At the other end of the line, Heero blanched, then realized that Duo must have thought he cut both ends of the communication. 

He disconnected the last safety wire, unhooked his harness and stood. Dr. J was speaking as he opened his hatch. 

"We surrender. But we will not hand over the Gundams. I repeat. We surrender. But we will not hand over the Gundams." 

Duo was also speaking: muttering, rather, very low, and very, very fast, but Heero could hear him clearly over the single-way comlink that Duo was obviously unaware of. 

"I hate you, Heero Yuy, I hate you, hate you, hate you... God, I wish you would just do it, just press the button, hurry up, hurry up... I _don't_ love you, I don't, not at all, not even a smidgen. Say goodbye to me? Fine then, it's not like I care, not at all.. because I hate you, damn you, I hate you, hate you, hate you.. I mean, why should I care about you...?" 

Out on the platform of his gundam, Heero locked his jaw, nodding to himself. It made perfect sense after all... "Acknowledged," he whispered, and pressed the button. There was a slight pause, and Heero felt death whisper across his cheek and envelope him as the flames inwardly engulfed his gundam. He soared gently through the air, and it felt so good to fly, to be free for those few moments... He didn't realize there was a single tear that flitted from beneath his eyelids to rush down his face to his chin, where it was erradicated as he crashed to the rocky earth. 

As the last communication unit of the original Wing Gundam was swallowed up in flames, Duo's voice ghosted, "Because we _are_ partners, damn you. And because I love you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that's a wrap! Birthday girl signing off~! Luvvies to all, on my seventeenth (17 on the 17th!) ~~Kai Michi 

[back to Kai Michi's fic] 


	2. Lonely 2: Better than Dead

Title: Lonely Two: Better than Dead

Author: Kai Michi

Rating: R

Warnings: Still apply. 

Disclaimer: The devil made me do it. 

The scream tore itself from Quatre's lips, but the raw pain that ripped through him disassociated his senses; he didn't even know he was screaming.  It was so much worse than any physical pain he had ever felt.  Worse than the time he had fallen from Sandrock's hatch, worse than the time, he had, as a young child, stuck a fork into the inviting depths of the electrical outlet; this pain rushed through his very veins, burning each individual cell, until his whole body was aligned and aflame.  

Clutching his chest, he gasped for air, unable to think, to feel; he wasn't even sure if he was breathing or not.  His vision was consumed by white flame, forcing him to the cold metal console, where he laid gasping and twitching for what seemed like an eternity, unable to tell what was his and what was not.  

Damn it all.  He didn't know his spaceheart could do _that.  _

Ever since the five gundams met up the first time, Quatre had felt that he had a special tie to all of them; indeed, that they _all had a special tie to each __other, but he hadn't realized just how strong that tie was until every bit of Heero's pain and confusion flooded through him.  And then Duo's.  He hadn't known their names before, but now he learned them, along with all of the feelings they had for each other.  Friends, partners, Duo loved Heero.  Heero didn't know how he felt for Duo, except that he cared.  Heero felt no regret as he pushed the button, he thought Duo hated him.  Duo was rapidly going insane.  _

Quatre was drowning in their emotions.  He was Heero, then Duo... oh god, His head spun as he struggled to remember his own name. _Duo Winner, Quatre Yuy, Heero Reberba Maxwell, Maxwell Yuy, Duo Heero... it was all wrong, all wrong, why couldn't it stop?!  _

And then it did.  

Heero consciousness fell out of his mind as though it were never there.  Duo was still there, but without the raw feeling of Heero _dying in his mind, Quatre was able to shut the other pilot out._

Sprawled out over Sandrock's console, the safety harness the only thing holding him to the seat, Quatre gulped in air.  He had never done that before.  Never absorbed two people so fully through emotions alone.  All of their thoughts, their feelings... ugh, he felt sick.  No, feverish.  He wasn't sure anymore.  "Sandrock... voice activation mode," he whispered hoarsely.  He wasn't sure he could even sit up, much less push the keys in the required sequences.  

"Incoming transmission," sang Sandrock's electronic voice.  

"Can you hear me? We've got to get out of here.  **_NOW."  _**

Quatre raised his head.  "Trowa? Trowa, is that you?"

"Yes. It's time for us to make a choice. He made it clear for us."

Duo broke in angrily. "But the colonies are in danger!"  _I don't know what you're fighting for, and I don't care.  **I**__fight for the colonies. _

"We can't keep fighting any further," Quatre argued weakly.  _At least, I can't... The matter was suddenly clinched when the Tallgeese backed off, and Lt. Zechs broke into their transmission._

"Hurry, get away! How could I possibly fight you now?!" he exclaimed, his voice full of shame.  "There is no honor in what was done.  Get away while you have the chance!"

Quatre watched as Trowa left with Heero's body cradled in Heavyarm's hand.  He turned to talk to the other pilot, Duo, but he had disappeared.  Quatre shrugged ruefully.  Calling the Maguanacs, he gave the tired order to retreat.  

"Look, is that…?"

"Yes, that is Gundam Zero-Two.  Should we contact him…?"

"Of course." 

"Ahoy there!  Can you hear us?   Hello?"  

_I can't believe he did it…  __I can't believe it… How… why… He left me… He LEFT me…  There was a strangled whimper from the huddled form in the cockpit, and an insistent beep in the background.  Beeping.. Interrupting his thoughts.  Every few minutes, a loud, annoying tone.  What was it?  What __was it?  Slowly, Duo came to himself, realizing that it was his communications console.  Two messages, and one still online.  He pushed the last one, not thinking of how he looked.  G's face entered the console.  "….shit."   Duo blinked.  Shouldn't that have been __his line?  G's mouth tightened into a firm line.   "I take it you got involved." _

Duo scowled.  "Not as involved as you're insinuating.  Don't get excited G, I can still do my job.  I had warning after all…  I didn't think he could go a whole month without trying to kill himself.  And I work alone."  

That hurt…  putting down his dead partner that way_.  Show some respect for the dead… he was doing his job.  Would you… Could you have… Why did HE have to do it?  "You're getting a new partner."  Duo's frowned, and he opened his mouth to argue.  __No! No, No, No, nonononono… I can't **handle this!  "No ifs, ands, or buts about it," G interrupted.  "I'm sorry to have to do this to you.  But you need two people for this next part of the mission.  It's… not going to be pretty for a while."   **_

"I didn't sign up for pretty," Duo snapped.  He reflected.  "That was just a bonus."   _ Still quipping.  Sling 'em out lightening fast, you're not hurting at all, are you?  Just run of the mill stuff.  It's another of Maxwell's casualties.  You could work for the enemy and be just as effective.  Maxwell's Curse.  _

G nodded slightly.  "I'm transmitting your missions.  Any changes will be transmitted securely, as usual.  Specs on your new partner as well.  I suggest you search him out before your first mission, but if you don't, you'll meet up at the assigned rendezvous before the mission, got it?"  

"Of course I got it, G!  It's not like this is new to me!"  

G's face softened marginally.  "I know this is hard on you, Duo.  Just remember what you're fighting _for.  G out."  And he was gone.  The cockpit was semi-dark, lit only by the few screens and consoles still running standby functions.   Duo brought up the next message.  It was from 04, inviting him to spend some time at a secure retreat before their next mission.  The co-ordinates were transmitted in code.  Duo accepted the offer, programming the co-ordinates into the system.  Then the last message.  From Heero.   Duo stared at the blinking signal for a long time before opening the message.  It was simple audio recording.  _

"I'm sorry I wasn't… better."

He could feel it breaking inside.  That thing.  That part of him that threatened to shatter the coping mechanism.  The thing that screamed at him that he was just a child, the thing that wanted to break down and cry and not get up again.  The little tiny thing that still wanted a family, still needed a home.  The mostly-ignored thing that wanted tactile comfort, the thing that needed hugs and reassurances that he was a good boy.  The thing that wondered what family felt like.  The thing that wanted to fade away and die every time he shot someone point blank and in cold blood.  The thing that Shinigami never let come to the forefront. The insignificant little thing that he often considered to be his soul.  The thing that, even now, he was going to ignore.  

"Let's go meet the temp, eh buddy?"  He suggested aloud.  "We all know you're my only partner, 'scythe.  _You're not going to be leaving me."  _

``````````````````````

Duo scowled as yet another plane enemy scouter flew over the landscape. Deathscythe still had a few cloaking abilities left after the heavy fight, but she wasn't able to hide in plain site, not without repairs first. He glanced at the timer that was running on one of the screens.  "Clock," he growled.  The computer recorded the time, and calculated an average.  "Scouters running at an average of every five minutes?  There's no way I'll be able to do anything here.  And the nearest base to steal a cargo plane is on the other side of the desert, damn it all."

An alarm warning flashing on one of 'Scythe's screens brought him up to full alert.  Had he been spotted?  No it was the blonde pilot, Zero Four. 

"I'm glad you decided to take us up on our offer.  There is a sandstorm that should be approaching shortly.  Under that cover, we can cross."

Duo nodded.  "But where do we go from there?" 

The boy frowned.  "There's a military base that belongs to a neutral country. They should have no problem sheltering us for a while."

"A military base?"

"Mmm.  Come, it's time to cross!" 

"Where is this place? All I see is sand."

"See for yourself." 

Duo looked in time to catch a gate opening in the sand. "An underground base?" 

"Let's go!" The blond one called, not-quite-cheerfully, but his tone didn't match his somber eyes.  Duo nodded, watched Sandrock enter the gate, then followed.

Under the gate, in a hangar, Quatre accepted the greetings of his friends.

"Welcome back, Quatre!" boomed a large man standing on platform.  Quatre smiled as he received a hearty handshake from the large commander.  "It's been a long time, Commander Sadaal."

Sadaal nodded.  "I've been following your brilliant achievements."

Quatre blushed. "It's not really me. It's all thanks to the Maguanac Fighters. Thank you for all the help."

Sadaal smiled. "No need to thank _me. They helped you because they all support your cause." _

"If we had been more helpful, we would've dealt more damage to OZ," Rashid grumped.

Sadaal's face clouded in anger at the mention of the enemy. "I can't believe they would be so dishonorable as to take the colonies hostage!"

"It was a flaw in our strategy. We weren't careful enough," Quatre said thoughtfully.  _Not that any of us ever dreamed Oz would do such a thing…_

"He's right," Duo put in from the hatch of his gundam, "It's our fault." **_My __fault... Heero blew himself to pieces... why didn't _****I do a better job? **

Sadaal fussed. "Don't say that.  No one can blame you. Now, come over here."

Rashid stopped him for a moment. "Quatre, we'll leave and let them maintain the Mobile Suits, is that alright?"

"Yes, and Rashid, our guest's..."

"I'll make sure that both Gundams will be well maintained." Rashid interrupted.

Quatre thanked him with a smile, before turning to Duo. "Is that alright with you?"

Duo shrugged. "Of course. Thanks."

Quatre blushed suddenly, realizing he knew Duo's name, but Duo didn't know his. "I'm sorry.  I haven't introduced myself. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner."

Duo started. "Winner? _The Winner, as in the wealthiest family in the Arab kingdoms?"_

Quatre nodded.  "Yes, but the Winners are peace loving people. It's more than likely that I'll be disowned by my father."

Duo sighed. "Everyone has his own story... I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell. He runs, he hides, he does everything... But he never lies. Duo Maxwell."

Quatre nodded.  "A pleasure to meet a fellow fighter." He took Duo's hand.  "Please, come this way."

Duo let himself be led through the heavy doors of the hangar, and into the underground city.  "What's this?  A festival?" he asked in surprise.  

"It's a welcome party for all of us, the Maganac Fighters," boasted one of the fighters.  Rashid nodded. "This country has been standing against OZ and the Alliance for many years. The Maganac Fighters are the guardians of its freedom."

Duo frowned. "The guardians..."

Suddenly two girls appeared with flowers and dragged some of the protesting fighters away. 

Duo smirked. "They look more like heroes to me."

"These people are always together for a final victory," Quatre said sagely. "That is the strength of this country."

"The unity of one goal shared by the whole nation..." Duo mused.

"How about us?" Quatre asked.  "Does that apply us?"

Duo shrugged, letting the question roll away. "There's lots of things I want to talk about, Quatre..."

"Of course.  This way." 

The room was small, but homey, furnished sparsely, but carrying a warm feeling about it nonetheless. 

"We'll have privacy here," Quatre said, propping open a window. 

"So, there are just five of us.  …Four of us, now."

"Yes. When we were at New Edward's Base… that was all of us."

"Do you know any of the others?" 

Quatre nodded.  "Zero Three is Trowa.  He's from a colony… L3."

"I'm from a colony too.  L2."

"Me too."  Quatre plopped down on the bed. "L4.  Everyone is so much alike, the five of us. The Mobile Suits, the operation and the objective..."

"Oz is the reason I'm here. My mission is to get even."

"'Don't look back. Just destroy before you are destroyed.'" Duo quoted, surprised that Quatre joined in as well.

"The same order, huh?"

"Exactly," Quatre confirmed.

Duo frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, I thought it'd be better to die in a battle than to be dominated by OZ.  It's the only way I've been able to keep fighting...  To keep pulling the trigger, to keep swinging my scythe.  Every time I thought I could just give up, I thought about my home, and how much better it _could  be.  And I kept fighting." _

"But then you thought about death."

"Heero died. Just like that."  Duo made the motion with his fingers. "Kaboom.  No more Heero."  Duo shook his head.  "I thought nothing could kill him.  He was... superman, y'know?" Duo's voice hitched as he continued.  "We were.. partners.  I really liked him..."  He buried his face in his hands.  "I loved him," came the muffled admission.  "I really think I did. I think I _do."  _

"Duo.." Quatre got up and touched Duo's shoulder comfortingly.  He didn't expect Duo to respond, but was surprised when, after a moment of almost _painful stiffening, the other boy accepted his hug.  "'m sorry," Duo sniffled into Quatre's shoulder.  _

"Sorry?" Quatre asked, leading Duo to the edge of the bed.  

"….I should have been better."


	3. Lonely 3: Save the Missions for the Morn...

Title: Lonely 3: Save regrets and missions till the morning

Author: Kai Michi

Warnings: Yaoi… duh?  Lemon.  Yum.   

Disclaimer: I have an evil hand.  And… it took over… and wrote this.  Not me.  Really… 

"I need to… I have to.."  Duo sat up and shook his head.  "I just need to get my mind off this.  I need to be doing something else right now.  Drinking, partying… fucking… anything."  He had expected the Arabian boy to blush at his last statement, but the blonde just looked towards the window.  "The street parties will last well into the morning… "    Duo was on his feet in an instant.  "Great!"  He was already heading towards the door when Quatre stopped him.  "Don't you want to change first?"   Duo paused.  "What's wrong with these clothes?" he asked, wondering if he should be offended.  Quatre merely shrugged.  "I thought you might be a bit uncomfortable… they seem very warm."  Duo nodded.  They _were rather hot.  Quatre smiled.  "Come on, I have some cooler clothes."  Duo let himself be led off with a single warning: "No pastels!".  _

A while later, he was exiting the building dressed in simple, loose, dark blue pants, and an embroidered silver shirt.  The combination was effective; stunning, yet simple, and very cool.  Easy to dance in, Quatre had told him.  That was good, because Duo expected to be doing  a _lot of dancing.  Hopefully a lot of forgetting as well.  _

Hot.  That's all he could feel upon exiting the small building was the heat.  It was more than just the desert air… it was the people.  It seemed the entire settlement had turned out in full festive regalia to take part in the celebration.  Girls wearing flounced skirts and loose tops in rich colors and festive floral attachments danced and swayed with young men in loose pants and vests. A myriad of torches cast a shivering light in the darkness, giving a strange appearance to the merrymakers. He grinned.  He could get used to this. Joining a group of women who recognized him as a visitor, he let them teach him the basic steps and moves to their dances, let them ply him with a few drinks and some good food, and obligingly danced with them.  

A long while later, he was still dancing, but the original group had broken up through the crowd.  No matter.  He never lacked for a dance partner, although somewhere along the way he had lost his shirt.  At the time, he'd hoped Quatre didn't mind too much.  An hour later, he couldn't remember that he ever had a shirt.  He was having a good time, getting into the light rhythms of the bouncy, charismatic music and dances of the people, enough that he was working up a good sweat.     

Then the music changed.  It was… darker.  Smoother.  More seductive.  It flowed along rich veins like a dark, curvaceous, beautiful woman, gesturing in a classic come-hither gesture.  She wove and spun, embraced him like a lover, enticed him to move, pulling him slowly, surely, through the throng to the source, where his mouth went dry.  _Quatre.  He had changed from his khaki-pastel ensemble; now wearing a pair of loose, sky-blue pants, pulled low on his hips, and a short vest in white.  A small jewel flashed in his navel, a gold collar of geometric shapes rode low over his collar bones.  His blonde hair shone in the torchlight, his expressive eyes closed as he manipulated the violin on his arm like a delicate lover, enticing mellow sound from her ever-willing body.  And… dancing.  Undulating, rather.  Rolling from his exposed hips all the way up his naked torso, then side to side, just… moving.  Moving gently and sensually and …hypnotically to the music.    In the background, a number of musicians provided harmonies and beats and… Quatre.  Not even looking at the crowd or the admirers or anyone, just totally in love with the music.  And then he stepped forward, his pale hips just rolling __out with that small step, and then back.  And then to the side again.  Out, back, side to side.  Duo was only vaguely aware that he was mirroring Quatre.  Around him, others danced in much the same way.  Smooth, undulating bodies.  Bright colors muted by the darkness, dark hair disappearing into the night.  And then, another song, another beautiful, wild woman was entering the mix.   For a moment, the violins sang in unison, a perfect blend of matched sound, __twins, before Quatre gracefully held out a last note and trailed off, letting the new player take over.  The song jumped in beat just the tiniest little bit, and the song took on a life of her own, turned hot, grew red hair, became fiery and peppery and __moved.  Hips were jumping to match the tempo, and there was Quatre, in front of him now, focused, those clear blue eyes __focused.  Hot.  It was so hot, so close, so tight...  A tiny trickle of sweat ran down the back of Duo's neck, under his braid, but he could only think of __swiveling. Hips… forward, back, side to side… drowsy, jumpy, swell of the music.  Exposed skin. Gold.  Shine.  Blue… so blue.  Then Quatre was right __there in his personal space and matching him, step for tiny step, roll for roll, ripple for perfect ripple.  Against him, chest to naked chest.  He could feel the heat from Quatre's pale skin, and their thighs were pressed together, even as they stepped.  His arms were around him in an instant, hands on the blonde's naked and exposed hips, feeling the rhythm through his dance partner, thoughts of propriety and decency erased.  And then Quatre strove __upwards, covering that inch or two of space, until their groins were aligned and __grinding, and then there was nothing but the tempo and the friction and Quatre.  And Duo __wanted. One hand reached up, trailing callused fingers down one exposed  shoulder, over tight, hard muscle, but so small, so compact… Fingers explored the sensual trail that was Quatre's abdomen, played with the jewel embedded in his belly button, and suddenly, Quatre's arms were around his neck, and his lips on his, __hot wet swollen tongue in his mouth.  Desperate.  Reached out for something, found it in Quatre, one hand sliding down the sweet arch of the smaller one's back, cradling a handful of perfectly rounded ass.  White __hot pleasure as he ground into Quatre's hips again, and Quatre's bucked against him, and then they're both panting, staring at each other.  "More," Duo might have moaned, but the words were caught up in the music.  Quatre knew.  Duo __knew Quatre knew, and he just nodded, also panting, eyes a little brighter.  Duo was impatient, suddenly, and Quatre was slung over one shoulder before he could voice a protest, much to his own amusement, and carted off amidst the throngs, back to the room.  The music was still coming in, loud and clear, and thrumming through both of them.  _

Quatre had hardly hit the bed, unleashed from his precarious perch, when he pounced on the unsuspecting Duo.  Hard, suddenly predatory, deep amethyst eyes snapped open Shinigami-wide, realizing this little package of desire was no pushover.  Another kiss, and they struggled for dominance.  Duo had a size advantage, but Quatre had the tactical experience.  Breaking the kiss, he trailed his tongue down the _hothothot line of Duo's jaw, suckling a sensitive spot at the base of his neck, and Duo was flat on his back, moaning.  Quatre continued, kissing, suckling, sucking every inch of Duo's bare chest, licking and sucking at Duo's nipples, feeling Duo arch and sway beneath him until Duo was certain he was going to come __again.  "Don't," he moaned.  "Just… fuck me."   Quatre ignored him with an imperialistic attitude not at all foreign to him, continuing his oral explorations of Duo's torso.  Sweeping his tongue over Duo's belly-button, he nosed his pants, as Duo growled in frustration.  Pitying him, Quatre undid Duo's pants, pulling them off and throwing them to some far corner of the room.  The underwear followed in similar style.  Quatre lowered his mouth until it hovered directly over Duo's erection, tongue reaching out to swipe gently over the head, causing Duo to shudder.  Another swipe, then a long lick from base to tip, and Duo was __begging.  And then he swallowed, Duo's length enclosed in the tight __sucking warmth of Quatre's mouth and coming __again.  Quatre grinned, looking, distinctly, like the cat who'd got the canary… or the cream… as he sat up and deliberately __swallowed.   Duo stared.  __He just doesn't seem like the kind of boy who… but that whole 'innocent' thing is so hot.  He watched as Quatre stood up and divested himself of his vest and pants.  He wasn't wearing any underwear.  With a grin, he pounced on the surprised teen.  "Miss me?" he purred.  The long-haired boy answered that with a deep kiss.  _

+

Duo sat up slowly, dragging in a deep breath and looking around.  Where was he?  And why was his arm numb?  He looked down to find that his arm was being commandeered as a pillow by the blonde Arabian.  'Quatre,' he thought.  He sat for a few moments, letting the memories of the previous evening and the early morning filter back into his muddled grasp.  After gleaning a sufficient amount, he sighed.  _Irresponsible much?  he mocked himself.  Slowly, quietly, he got up, gently pulling his arm away from Quatre's grasp.  After pulling on a pair of boxer shorts, he went in search of a bathroom.  _

A few minutes later, Quatre, having been deprived of his warm body pillow, awoke. Yawning slowly, he blinked around, wondering why he wasn't in his own bed.  After a few minutes, his brain caught up and he blushed brightly, images of feverish, needy lovemaking filling his memory.   He cast a searching glance around the room for Duo first, and when it was clear the other boy was no longer here, he looked for his clothes, finding them in an untidy heap by the bed.   He was just zipping up his pants when Duo walked back in.  "Quatre."  Quatre looked up, suddenly nervous, his finger suddenly clumsy and tripping over his buttons.  "Um.  Good morning," he smiled then, the sweet innocence that he radiated so well touching something in Duo's heart.  He tilted his head as a few of Duo's stronger feelings crossed his heart.  The other boy was feeling... guilty? Duo crossed the room nervously, chewing on his lip.  "I'm sorry," he said at last.  "I shouldn't have... I mean, you weren't..."  

"But I'm the one that…" Quatre interrupted.  

"But I started it!" he protested ashamedly.  

Quatre shrugged briefly, offering a smile.  "So?  I followed.  Besides... it wasn't... -bad- or anything.  Was it?"   As Duo shook his head mutely, he pinked, and went back to adjusting his shirt buttons.  "I wouldn't mind... you know... doing it again... if the occasion... uh, came up."  

Duo snickered suddenly.  "If the occasion 'comes up'...?"  

Quatre laughed.  "Just let me know."  

+

Duo's eyes blazed as he watched the city that had sheltered him come under fire.  _And once again, I'm running away. Duo Maxwell: He runs… and runs some more.   Well not today.  He wasn't going to sit around and let those people die defending __his sorry behind.  He got up abruptly, snapping the buckles of the co-pilot's seat, nearly running to the cargo hold.  "Duo?" Quatre called after him, worried.  "Circle around!" he ordered.  _

"But Duo, we don't have—" 

"Just DO it!"  

Maybe sensing the feelings that Duo had, maybe just trusting Duo's instincts, Quatre did as he was told.  Once secured in Deathscythe, Duo forced the metal giant to its feet, and opened the loading dock.  "Take this, bastards," he hissed as he aimed.  Joy, elation, filled him as he annihilated row after row of OZ scum from the air with the borrowed beam weapon.  They would no doubt ship in more, but it would take time, maybe even an hour or two.  Satisfied that he had done all he could, he sat back and closed the loading hatch.  After a few more moments, he powered down, and ambled back into the cockpit.  Quatre gave him a sunny smile.  "Great work, Duo."  Duo winked in response.  "Where are we headed?"  

"South," Quatre responded.  "Oz will be expecting us to go north, of course, so we'll move only a short distance; not the long distance they'd expect, and camp out closer to the interior of Africa.  There's a safehouse there, and then we'll hop the distance to Madagascar, and then to Australia."  

Duo frowned.  "Why so many stops?  Why don't we just fly straight to Australia?  We have enough fuel, don't we?"  

"Tracking," Quatre replied.  "At each stop, we'll be picking up new transport, new identities, and new stories.  By the time we get to Australia, even if Oz managed to track us that far, and I doubt they will, they'll have definitely lost us."  

Duo grinned.  "I _knew there was a reason I was keeping you around."  _

"Oh?" Quatre replied, straight-faced. "I thought you just liked my ass."    


End file.
